 Sick prisoners lie in a courtyardWithin
the next days, more careful control was maintained over the
prisoner’s medical care. The Soviet army provided doctors,
medicine, devermination supplies, and other services their
medical units could contribute. Doctors who were already interred
in Terezin, as well as doctors from surrounding regions, joined
in the efforts against the spread of typhus. Unfortunately
the excitement of liberation had caused some prisoners to
escape before they could be officially checked over and released.
The situation grew so serious that the entire town was declared
under quarantine on May 14th for two weeks. No
one was allowed in or out in order to prevent further infections
outside the camp walls.
 Quarantine warnings outside the Terezin gatesStarting
May 28th, former prisoners were finally allowed to depart from the
camp and return to their homes. If only it were that easy, however—for many,
home was left in shambles after the ravages of war and pillaging that had taken
place in their absence. Hopes for reuniting with loved ones were also soon
dashed; it was not uncommon for all but an uncle or sister-in-law to be the
only other survivors. After the war, life outside of the camps could surely be
viewed as depressing as life within. While separated from loved ones and distant
from home, a person could always blindly hope for the best if and when
liberation arrived. But now it had, and in anticlimactic fashion, the dreams of
liberated life were transformed to grim realities. The struggle of starting a
new life had begun—even with the Nazis suppressed, pain and sadness found new
ways to manifest themselves in the lives of the survivors.
It took
until August of 1945, 3 months after liberation, for the last of the former
prisoners to depart from the walls of Terezin. In October Terezin was
officially reinstated as a town of the Czechoslovak Republic, and in 1946 the
original inhabitants began to return. The political scene began shifting
dramatically in the uncertain times after the war, however, and the Soviets
gained increasing influence over what had remained of the Czech government.
Bitterness towards the Western neighbors who had betrayed them as WWII broke
out and gratitude for the Soviet’s services during the post-war recovery
resulted in the country’s willing transformation to a communist state—a
transformation that proved to be less than desirable as time passed.
From the
late 40’s through 1989, a reborn and reunited Czechoslovakia
suffered from a new oppression, complete with stifling governments,
an uninspired workforce, and regulated cultural activity.
Not until the Velvet Revolution of 1989, named so due to its
non-violent nature, was Communism overthrown. By 1993, Czechoslovakia
had been split into two neighboring countries, the Czech Republic
and Slovakia, for the second time in the century. Since then
the Czech Republic has functioned as a parliamentary democracy
headed in Prague by President Vaclav Havel. Through all these
changes, Terezin still functioned as a regular town with convenience
stores and a post office, although its dark history was disregarded
and seldom discussed during the time of the Communists. Only
since 1989 have several museums and memorials opened to honor
the victims of the tragedies of WWII, and it is not uncommon
to see a quiet tour group winding its way quietly through
the somber streets. For even on a sunny day, decades later,
a dark cloud still hangs over the star-shaped ramparts of
Theresa’s Town.
|
